“I used a scythe a lot,” Kizzy said.
“That’s perfect,” Josephine answered. “I can make you one using the 3D printer. But I’m going to be honest with you Kizzy. The odds are stacked against us. The crows have an empathic connection with Morrigan through that cross. As long as he controls that, the crows will do his bidding. Take that away from him... then we will all survive.”
Kizzy slumped down into a chair. She was beginning to feel sick. There was so much weight on her shoulders. Diego, her mother and Laura and Banshee. Now the entire world. They were all depending on her. It was crushing her spirit.
“You just have to promise me one thing,” said Josephine. “You can never tell anyone about this facility. It’s vital that it remain a secret until a cure is found.”
Kizzy nodded. She looked seriously at Josephine. “And you have to promise me one thing. There were people that have died because of me because of me trying to find this place. And I feel like a monster, but I always knew that if I ever found Dr. Enoch, he could fix it all. So promise me you’ll help me.”
Josephine’s eyes misted. She must have been touched by Kizzy’s words. Her lip quivered and she tried to smile. “Everything will be alright Kizzy.”
Kizzy breathed a sigh of relief. Some of the weight lifted from her shoulders. Josephine Yanloo would fix everything. As she sat and waited for her weapon she noticed the black velvet curtain that blocked off the other half of the facility. What was behind that curtain? Kizzy wondered. She had to remember to ask when she got the chance.
∞
Leo pounded on the apartment door. It was on the seventeenth floor, so if the kid tried to run the only way out was through him. Leo braced himself.
Milo opened, but when he saw the police uniform on the other side his eyes grew wide and he tried to slam the door. Leo stuck his foot in the way, it smashed his right metatarsal.
“Dammit,” shouted Leo as he doubled over in pain.
Milo ran from the door to his bedroom.
Leo limped inside after him. He turned the corner.
The kid stood there waiting, a gun in his hands.
“Oh geez,” said Leo, raising his arms. “Where’d you even get that thing?”
“I bought it the day you pulled yours on Diego and me.”
“Look, I’m just here to talk. Can you put that thing down?”
Milo kept the gun raised.
“I know about the bomb kid. I know it was you.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t know anyone would be there.”
“Yeah, but why even do it at all?”
“I can’t say.”
“Milo, look, unless you start talking, the best case scenario is you spend a long, long time in prison.”
“I was forced into it.”
“By who?”
“I can’t say.”
“Whoever it is, we’ll take care of it. You don’t have to take the fall for this is somebody coerced you into it.”
“It was Father Morrigan,” Milo said, with his eyes closed.
Leo sighed. To be perfectly honest, he should’ve assumed it was Morrigan the whole time. But the fact that their fates were intertwined had blinded him to the obvious. And if Morrigan were to be exposed he’d tell the whole world Leo had been working with him on the crow deal. Nobody would blink twice to have them all executed. “Maybe it’s better if we just keep this quiet.”
“I thought you were going to help me?”
“Look, Father Morrigan is an important man. I’m sure whatever you think he told you to do, it was all just a misunderstanding.”
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding.”
“I’m sure... this is just...”
“There was no misunderstanding,” Milo screamed.
“How did he force you into it then, huh? Why didn’t you ask for help”
“I was protecting Diego,” Milo said, his eyes quivered as he shook his head.
“Why? I mean, I know you’re friends right, but he can take care of himself can’t he?”
“It’s more than that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Because... I’m in love with him,” Milo said. He lowered the gun and sat down on his bed, hanging his head between his shoulders.
“Oh geez, that’s uh... I’m not really sure those words mean the same thing to you as they do to me.” He went and sat down next to the kid, patting him on the back.
“How can they be different?”
“I mean...” Leo shook his head as he tried to figure out where he was going with this. “Well, do you want to kiss him?”
“No,” stated Milo, he appeared flat out confused. “Why would I want to do that?”
“That’s where we differ I guess.”
“Well, I care about him. I think about him often and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. That’s my definition.”
Leo went to speak, but he had nothing to say. His two-way radio sounded.
“Yeah, Chief Cartwright,” he answered.
“Leo, we’ve got a flock of crows attacking the city, they all seem to be headed for the church.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said and closed the link. He stood up and walked towards the bedroom door, eager to get out of that room.
“Are you just going to leave?” the boy asked.
“Look Milo, you’ve got to stand up for yourself, man. Don’t go doing somebody’s else’s dirty work.”
“Even if it is for someone you love?”
“Especially then.”
“Why?”
“Because they deserve better than that, ok. Now clean this damn place up, it looks like a zoo in here.”
25
Kizzy snuck down the wet street under the cover of night, it shimmered in the city lights. She felt nearly invisible in the black coat Josephine had given her. It was made of tough thick cloth and hooded so it could serve as protection from any crow attacks. The matte black scythe strapped to her back kept her posture erect.
At the end of the road sat the church, large and imposing, shadowed by the night. Kizzy had twenty minutes before the three hours ended, before Diego was stuck forever in the hell box. Father Morrigan would be waiting, as would the man in green. Kizzy had to keep her eyes wide open for an ambush by the crows. Her body was completely exhausted but she needed to keep her senses for just a few minutes more. Josephine had given her a shot of slow release adrenaline. It would be kicking in at any moment. She took a few breaths outside the front door of the church. This was it. The final moment. She entered.
The room was lit by hundreds of small candles scattered about the large open space. Their orange light flickered in the breeze from the opened door.
Kizzy searched for was the Hell box. Fortunately it was still sitting there in the middle of the nave. But was she in time? She saw Father Morrigan sitting in the back room in front of his computer.
“Let him out!” she shouted. Her voice echoed through the empty church.
Father Morrigan looked around the screen, raised his eyebrows in shock and cracked a toothy smile. “Kizzy! You’re alive!”
“No thanks to you,” Kizzy growled as she marched towards him.
“What are you doing back here?”
“I came to save Diego,” she said.
“Oh good. Yeah go right ahead,” he said nonchalantly.
“Open the box,” she demanded.
“You’re too late,” he said.
“You’re going to give me that key,” said Kizzy, reaching for the scythe. “Or you’re going to die.”
“No I mean, well, look.” He pointed at the box.
&nbs
p; Kizzy turned to see that the box was opened. What had happened?
At that moment Diego came walking out from the bathroom, his face swollen from crying. He froze when he saw Kizzy standing there.
“Kizzy?” he asked, as if he couldn’t believe it was true. “You’re alive?”
“Diego? How did you get out of the box?”
“I can explain,” he said.
“Go ahead,” she said.
Father Morrigan chuckled as he stood up from his seat. “I could eat this up with a spoon.”
“It’s not what you think,” Diego said to Kizzy.
“What is it then?” she asked.
“Just so you know,” said Father Morrigan, “It was his idea to put the bow on top.”
“What’s going on?” Kizzy asked looking to Diego. Looking right in his eyes, hoping that this was all just a dream.
“I didn’t want the bomb to go off until you were out of there,” Diego said. “I’m sorry.”
“You think ‘sorry’ will fix this? I risked my life because I thought you were in that box.”
“I risked my life because I thought the police were after me,” said Diego. “You lied to me. You ruined my life.”
“So that makes it ok to blow me up?”
“I said I wanted to wait until you were safe.”
“But why blow up anything? Are you stupid?”
“Because that woman you met is trying to destroy the human race,” said Diego. “She’s tried before and she’s still trying.”
The tears began to swell in Kizzy’s eyes. One rolled down her cheek, stinging the whole way. “I don’t believe that,” she said as she began to shake. The adrenaline was kicking in now. Her hands began to vibrate. Her brow started to sweat. She pulled the scythe from the holder on her back and slashed at a nearby chair. It sliced through the leg like butter and it fell loudly to the floor.
Diego began to back away.
Who was telling the truth?
She eyed the silver cross that hung around Morrigan’s neck. It glimmered in the candlelight. The only thing she knew for sure was that the crows were a force of evil in his hands.
She marched towards him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he shouted at her. “Hey, back up!”
Kizzy was shaken by his yell, but continued her pursuit, gripping the scythe tight with both hands.
He scrambled into the back room and pressed on the key board as he hid behind the desk. A door to the left opened and the man in the green suit emerged. He eyed Kizzy. Grabbing a nearby chair he came barreling towards her, like a lion tamer jabbing at her with its wooden legs.
Kizzy slashed with the razor sharp scythe, slicing through the legs, taking them clean off the chair. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Diego charging her with a chair of his own. She was about to slash him through the midsection when she noticed his eyes weren’t fixed on her, but rather on the man in green. Diego smashed the chair down over his right shoulder. It shattered into a hundred pieces.
I don’t want your help, Kizzy thought. The man in green plowed into Diego and wrapped his arms around him. Kizzy glanced back at Father Morrigan only to see him in the crow suit, dashing towards the door to close himself in the back room. Kizzy ran and slid the blade in the doorway, preventing in from closing. She kicked it open.
From behind the door Morrigan slashed at her face with a pair of silver scissors. Kizzy dodged as the blade sliced her across the cheek, just under her eye. Kizzy yanked away the scythe and pulled the door closed with all her might. Morrigan’s hand was caught in the door jamb and the scissors snipped off three of his fingers.
He shrieked in pain from inside the leather mask. Kizzy kicked the door open. Morrigan scampered around the desk as he held his hand against the red robe.
“Give me the cross,” Kizzy said. “Now.”
“Josephine asked for it, didn’t she?” Morrigan asked, his hand and face shaking. “Do you even know what she is? You have no idea do you?”
“She’s a scientist,” Kizzy said.
“How do you think she’s survived down there all these years? What’s she been eating?” Morrigan asked. “She’s a machine.”
“She’s not.”
“You’ll see.”
Suddenly the crows were pecking at the windows.
“It’s too late Kizzy,” Morrigan said. “You should’ve just died when you had the chance.”
Kizzy looked back to see the stained glass windows on both sides of the church imploding into the nave as a whirlwind of crows came flooding in through the openings. The glass showered out onto the stone floor. The crows, hundreds of them all came surging at her with a ferocity she had never seen before. She turned and sprang for cover. The man in green had Diego pinned to the floor. Kizzy ran past them as the flock of crows pursued her. They knocked over pews, toppled tables and crashed in the man in green, momentarily freeing Diego.
Kizzy ran for a wooden door opened and slipped inside. When she went to close it her scythe was in the way. She tried to pull it out, when two hands grabbed the edge of the door. It was Diego, he hopped over the scythe, moved it out of the way and closed, locking it for good measure. A second later the man in green began to pound on the other side.
Kizzy and Diego were the in darkness once again.
“What should we do?” he asked, reaching out and touching her shoulder.
The feeling of his hand made her sick. She didn’t say a word. Her eyes began to water.
“Look, I am so, so sorry. This didn’t go the way I thought it would.”
“Whatever,” Kizzy said.
“I’m sorry,” he groaned and grabbed her shoulders.
She squirmed out of his hands. “The woman I met isn’t a machine or a monster or whatever. Morrigan lied to you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
The door was beginning to break at the edges from the man in greens incessant bashing.
“I don’t know why I believed him. Let me help you.”
“I don’t want your help,” Kizzy said flatly. “I can’t trust you.”
“Who can you trust then?”
“Nobody.”
“Kizzy you can’t do this on your own.”
“Watch me.”
“I know you don’t want that.”
Kizzy shook her head. The tears were coming.
“Let me help you,” he pleaded.
She bit her lip. Could she really trust him? How much could she tell him? What if he knew about her condition? Would he just reject her the way everybody else had? “No,” she finally said. “I never want to see you again.”
The man in green finally busted through the door. He reached for Diego first and wrapped his arms around him. Kizzy sprinted from the dark room. Morrigan stood in the crow suit on the stage at the front of the church. His right hand wrapped in a white cloth.
The cawing birds flew at Kizzy with their talons first. She swung at them with the scythe, cutting two in half. She made sure to keep a tight hold on her weapon this time. She kept swinging as she approached the stage and Morrigan. The church was filling up as the crows continued to swarm in.
Kizzy saw the man in green drag Diego to the hell box, close him in it and put the black key in his breast pocket. She looked back to Morrigan who was approaching her with a flock of crows hovering at his back.
Saving Diego would have to wait.
Morrigan swung his arm and a flank of crows flew over his shoulder and came crashing into Kizzy. She swung her scythe, slicing through three. She imagined the Japanese peasant soldiers and she swung and swung and swung, mowing down a five at a time. She was getting closer to Morrigan. She could see the fear in his eyes. She was bringing death to
him. She was unstoppable.
There was an explosion behind her, at the entrance of the church. The crows were spooked. They all began to shriek and push in all directions at once. Kizzy was knocked to the floor.
She ducked and wrapped the coat around her. The pecks and claws were padded, but they became more and more intense as the crows grew crazier. She began to scream.
The smell of fire and burnt feathers hit her nose.
“You can’t stop me Kizzy,” Father Morrigan yelled over the caws and wind. “You can only hope to contain me. I thought Josephine would have given you something better than a stupid old farm tool to fight me.”
The birds began to grip onto her coat and lift her up off the ground. She tried to shake herself free, but it was no use. They were going to lift her up, high into the air and drop her.
“This is the whole problem with the world. You killed a man and now you don’t even feel any guilt. I’m going to save us. Any last requests?” he asked with a chuckle as Kizzy was raised.
Through the hundreds of birds she saw fire at church’s entrance. Flaming birds were screeching and igniting the wooden pews and the walls. Suddenly Kizzy saw Iris making her way through the swarm, blasting her flame thrower at anything that moved, heading towards the hell box.
“What is that thing?” Morrigan screamed.
“Diego is in this box isn’t he?” Iris asked calmly. She began to spray the box with her flamethrower but it remained unaffected. “How do I open this?”
“The man in red has the key! The man in red has the key!” Kizzy shouted at the top of her lungs. The crows dropped her as Morrigan’s attention was diverted.
The man in green who had been standing on the sidelines charged Iris, dodging the flames she shot. He reached the robot, picked her up over his head and slammed her onto the floor. She hit the ground awkwardly, like a metal skeleton. From the ground Iris pointed her weapon upwards and blasted the man at point blank range. He was launched across the room engulfed in flames, sliding over the smooth stone floor towards Kizzy. She scrambled over to the flaming remains and pulled the jacket from his body with the scythe. After stamping out the fire and making sure Iris wasn’t looking Kizzy took the black key from the breast pocket.
The Enoch Pill Page 27
